The NFL’s era of free agency has had its share of blockbuster courtships, of big-name players moving on to put their names on somebody else’s marquee.

But as the AFC’s early birds — the Bills and the Patriots — have their rookies report to training camp this week, the offseason officially comes to a close with the biggest balance-of-power move in the conference having been made in Denver.Yes, Denver, where a Hall of Fame quarterback, John Elway, pursued a future Hall of Fame quarterback, Peyton Manning, and where plenty of hype and hope has since followed.

“Peyton changes everything,” said Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey. “A player like that, especially a quarterback, is what everybody wants because no matter what, you’re always going to have a chance to compete.”

All teams bring the usual allotment of optimism to training camp, but it’s worth noting the AFC race has been little more than the usual suspects in recent seasons. Since the start of the 2003 season, Manning’s Colts, the Steelers and the Patriots have represented the AFC in the past eight Super Bowls.

The Broncos were knocked out of the playoffs by the Colts to close out the 2003 and 2004 seasons, were knocked out by the Steelers to close out 2005 and were bounced by the Patriots this past January when Tom Brady tossed six touchdown passes.

Enter Manning, Elway’s proposed solution to get the Broncos back to the Super Bowl.

“Every year, you get the fresh start (in training camp) and if you do enough of the work, if the team did enough in the offseason putting things together, you feel like you’re going to be one of those teams with a chance to be there at the end,” Bailey said. “That’s all you can ask for as a player, to have a chance. And I don’t think people have been this excited around here for a while. Because (Manning) really does change everything … and that’s what a new season is, a chance to compete for that ring because at the end of the day, that’s what matters.”

AFC West

Best additions

QB Peyton Manning, Broncos: John Elway’s bold play landed the prized player of the league’s era of free agency. In each of the past nine seasons he was on the field, Manning’s team won at least 10 games.

WR Robert Meachem, Chargers: The Chargers are not worried about his arthroscopic knee surgery in January. He has averaged 16.1 yards per catch during the past four seasons, ranking 10th-best in the league over that span.

LB Philip Wheeler, Raiders: Explosive player could have far more impact in Oakland’s pass-rush schemes than he did in the Colts’ cover-2 look.

The favorite: The Chiefs have touted their depth and youth for much of the offseason, but history says if Manning stays on the field in his attempt to come back from multiple neck surgeries, the Broncos are headed for a double-digit win total.

Numbers game: Before missing the 2011 season, Manning had five consecutive years of at least 4,000 yards passing and topped 4,000 yards in 11 of his last 12 seasons behind center.

Division breakdown: The Broncos, even limping 1-3 down the stretch to 8-8 in 2011, and the Chiefs have broken the Chargers’ grip on the division title over the past two years. But no team in the division finished with a top-10 defense in 2011. The Chiefs ranked 11th in yards allowed, 12th in points allowed — and it was the only division in the league in which at least three of the teams surrendered at least 370 points.

So, while the attention will hit the division’s QBs, it’s the guys on the other side of the ball who will need to figure things out.

AFC East

Best additions

DE Mario Williams, Buffalo: The overall No. 1 pick of the 2006 draft by the Texans has 53 sacks in just over five seasons.

WR Brandon Lloyd, Patriots: Has had back-to-back 70-catch seasons at ages 29 and 30. He should produce at 31, especially with Tom Brady chucking him the ball.

The favorite: The Jets mostly talk about winning the division while the Bills and Dolphins hope to win the division title. But as long as Brady is behind center, the Patriots are the team to beat.

Numbers game: Brady is 140-41 as a starter in the regular season and playoffs combined. His .780 winning percentage in the regular season is the NFL’s best — ever.

Division breakdown: The Dolphins hope they are grooming their future franchise quarterback in Ryan Tannehill; the Jets haven’t taken a snap in training camp and already have a boiling quarterback controversy with Mark Sanchez and Tim Tebow battling it out before a potentially fractured locker room. So it’s the Bills who may be the leading threat to the Patriots’ run of dominance.

To make a run, however, Buffalo has to make a significant leap, veteran quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick will have to play to the contract the Bills gave him last year and Williams will have to contend for NFL defensive player of the year.

A tall order to be sure, because the Bills haven’t topped seven wins in a season since 2004.

AFC North

Best additions

CB Terence Newman, Bengals:He’s hoping Bengals defensive boss Mike Zimmer, his former coordinator with Dallas, can find the Pro Bowl form in him. Newman soon will be 34.

RB Trent Richardson, Browns: Hall of Famer Jim Brown publicly labeled the draft’s No. 3 pick as “ordinary,” but the Browns need him to be more than that.

The favorite: The Steelers and Ravens were atop the division last season, each at 12-4, and figure to be there again. The Bengals and Browns simply didn’t do enough to catch two of the league’s best at maintaining their rosters with homegrown talent.

Numbers game: Only one team in the AFC — New England — outscored its opponents by a bigger margin than the Ravens did last season. Baltimore had a plus-112 scoring differential.

Division breakdown: The Steelers and the Ravens again played the offseason patiently, keeping the players they wanted and taking a low-impact approach in free agency. The result could be status quo in the division race — one of the two has won seven of the past eight division titles. The Bengals snagged a wild-card playoff spot last season but will have a difficult time improving upon that unless young QB Andy Dalton makes a dramatic move upward in his second pro season.

AFC South

Best additions

LB Bradie James, Texans: The hope in Houston is that the veteran James can lessen the impact of the DeMeco Ryans trade because James was a starter for Texans defensive coordinator Wade Phillips when the two were with Dallas.

CB Aaron Ross, Jaguars: Had a career-high four interceptions in 2011 after struggling with injuries in 2009 and 2010.

The favorite: The Texans, after the franchise’s first playoff appearance last season, appear to be on the cusp of bigger things. The key will be to keep QB Matt Schaub, who had foot surgery last November and was held out of the team’s on-field work this offseason as a precaution, upright and productive. Schaub said during the team’s minicamp that he was “100 percent.”

Numbers game: None of the Texans’ backups at wide receiver, behind Andre Johnson and Kevin Walter, have an NFL catch on their résumés.

Division breakdown: Three of the division’s teams — the Colts, Jaguars and Titans — have selected quarterbacks in the first round of the last two drafts. That’s a lot of growing pains waiting for the young guns to mature, especially for Indianapolis rookie Andrew Luck and the Titans’ Jake Locker.

That puts the Texans, if they can keep their key players on the field, in prime position for a second consecutive division title — especially since they won last year’s title with Schaub, Mario Williams, Andre Johnson and Arian Foster having missed significant playing time because of injuries.

MONTREAL — It’s a big deal to play or coach hockey in Montreal and Toronto, and for first-year Avalanche coach Jared Bednar, it’s bound to be extra special because it will be his first time in those historic Original Six markets. Indeed, the Canadian native from Yorkton, Saskatchewan, has never been to the Bell Centre or Air Canada Centre — where...

Shortly before the season began, Holmes, who had been dealing with a nagging hip since September, finally went in to get an X-ray to get the injury addressed. That X-ray revealed a mass on his hip, and following a biopsy, doctors diagnosed Holmes with Osteosarcoma.